Category:

Last evening's hook-in

9/18/2014

Ginny and her pomegranates

Another great hook-in was had by all! Some familiar faces are back after taking the summer off. We hooked upstairs for the first time since the spring.   Heat rises and it can gets pretty stuffy up there. There's always a lot of menopausal gals with red faces.   I think it was too soon to move up there as it got pretty warm, I was even complaining.   One of the gals, always too cold actually took off her sweater so I knew the rest of us must have been dying. We opened windows but there was little breeze to ease the heat from all the hot bodies.

Sure is cool at night for sleeping though. I'm now in the flannel sheets and jammies with the covers gathered over the chin. I zip up a coat to go out in the evenings for the pups bedtime pee.   If only a bit of that could find its way to the upstairs of my studio. Maybe we were pushing it and will sit downstairs until the end of September in the air conditioning.

Everyone was in fine spirits and we got to know a new recruit, Kate, who seemed to fit in with the rest of the old shoes. She's a youngin, mother of one and baby on the way.   She was keen so I think she'll be back.

I didn't realize it until this morning that I didn't get a picture of Barb's new project, drawn by her husband of their cottage.   Rats! I'll catch it next time. Lorraine is working on a gift and didn't want it seen just yet so no picture there either.

Kate working on her pineapple.

Above Audrey's bedroom rug. That gorgeous geometric border is a perfect frame to the Morning Glories. Below, Pam is now stepping out on her "Stepping Stones" rug. She's completed two of the stones and all of the bricks, wonderfully eye catching.

Deanna working on her Tessellations rug and Armenia is finishing this cardinal piece for a very sick friend. The rug is as sweet as Armenia!

Charlene's rug in focus this time. Stunning blues and greens in this stained glass design.

Lorraine Burch

Anne working on Alice

I started my pumpkins at the hook-in from the bundles we've made for the fall season. I'll post those later. I worked in a #7 cut for the entire piece. The wool is for wide cutting only. I had an old barn board frame and quickly mounted it with a piece of cardboard but I'll fix it properly later. There is something happy about looking at pumpkins. Maybe it reminds me of all the candy I used to collect in my pillow case on Halloween, seeing all the pumpkin faces in the windows of each house we tricked or treated at.

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Last evening's hook-in

9/4/2014

9 Comments

We always manage to have a good time at the hook-ins. Good company, tall tales and lots of laughs. It's always a pleasure to see rugs progress. Charlene is working on her next stained glass piece and unfortunately I snapped a wonderful closeup shot of her hair, you can count the strands, but the rug is blurry. I'll get it next time! She was in the shop on Saturday to experiment with a Jacquard dye and it turned out perfectly. Dyeing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you might get....and this time it was a touchdown!

Sue dropped in to show us the progress of her Five Star Runner, a new design we whipped up on Friday. She said, if you design it I'll start hooking it tonight and them is challenge words! So we got busy and drew lines until I couldn't see straight. I was in a funny mood that day with very low energy and was torn between napping on the toilet tank top or sitting and hooking so this got me out of my funk and all juiced up creatively. I think this is going to be a popular pattern as it satisfies a primitive preference; a simple design with a bold statement.

Honey sure loves Sue and snuggled close for a few kisses. I think the feeling is mutual! I didn't hook last evening. The pups had to go to the groomer this morning so I spent the time combing knots out of their hair and chatting with the group. It was more comfortable brushing them in air conditioned comfort than at home with my broken heat pump. They have a much happier time if momma does it. Going to the groomer is stressful enough! I hooked a bit at home before going to bed.

Three Star and Five Star Runner. This one could go on to infinity! To see the details click this link to my site: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

My "F is taking a bit longer because I'm hooking it all in a #6. There is a lot of detail to work around. If anyone would like the animal print behind any letter of the alphabet we can do that....as well as the Zebra strips I used behind the Z.

Working in Black and Grey tones is challenging but fun and really quite dramatic. If pressed to say which one I like the best I'd hum and haw.....each one brings something different to the table. I can't believe I am over half way through the alphabet! This is #16.

Deanna with her Tessellation houses.

Pam with her Stepping Stones

Anne with Alice.

Patsy with a sunflower design.

Patsy finished Bluffton Bathers and it's so sweet I bought it to display in the shop! Patterns available! http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

9 Comments

I'm touched beyond words.....well, I have a few....

8/28/2014

10 Comments

WOW………I am overwhelmed in the best kind of way. I never dreamed there would be such an outpouring of good wishes and support!   The best therapy ever!

I read and reread all of the responses on my blog, Facebook and the private emails. I would love to respond to them all individually but a group message will have to do as there are not enough hours in the days to say all that is in my heart!

I have absorbed all your thoughts and suggestions so they will be with me and I am going to print them off so they are close at hand if and when another human tornado blows through.

I laughed at some comments and cried over others.   There is something to be said about knowing we are not alone. Although I hate that you too have experienced the ugly side of humanity there is comfort knowing I haven’t been singled out.   It sure makes me think and I will try to not take it so personally. I feel so strong today, like titanium and if anyone walked in the door and started in on me, my tank is so full of "sass" I’d send them packing and holler, hope the door hits you in the arse on the way out!" Well, maybe I wouldn't say that but it's fun to think I could! I'll definitely be thinking it though!

                                     So bless you all!

Yesterday the universe sent Santa to me. I needed a ray of sunshine and sure enough, I had a smile you could see for a mile. Silly really, how a man in a long, white beard, red shirt and hat that says Santa can make you feel like a child again. All those wonderful Christmas stories and recollections engrained deeply in my memory all came to the forefront. It was just what I needed!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus were so lovely and sweet, I almost got a cavity. Santa was definitely jolly but smaller around the girth than I remembered. Mrs. Claus said he's lost a bit of weight so she's had to sew padding into his suit. The happy couple are retired from the North Pole and living in Atlanta Georgia where they do wonderful deeds for children, especially those in need of a little Christmas magic. They touched my heart and I gave them one of my hooked Cone Santas to add to their collection of festive decorations.   Mrs. Claus also bought a kit because she fell in love with hooking and said if she lived around here she would be hanging out at the studio with all us gals.

I also got to hang out with Kay Lewis at our daytime hook-in. We chatted about life and I think maybe we were twins that got separated at birth. A kindred spirit for sure! So after the bad came the good. If only it would stop there but I know there will be other trials. I hope to handle them better, I’ll keep you posted.

The hook-in gathering was small but mighty. Patsy dropped by, Teresa from next door and her friend Kay.   It was a great afternoon.

Patsy....it sure isn't hard to smile with Santa around!

Mr. & Mrs. Claus. They have a blog if anyone would like to follow. Details are on the card.

Kay Lewis with her masterpiece.

Teresa with her Primitive Oriental

Initially Yours Z, Zebra stripe with jungle colours.

10 Comments

Today is eye-candy catchup!

8/21/2014

7 Comments

I post a lot of pictures on Facebook that sometimes don't make it on here so I thought I would add to the pictures to our hook-in evening.

Charlene started hooking on the second design of her stained glass windows triptych last evening. Beautiful designs that she brings to life with bold colours that you would see on a Church window as light streams through them. Each design is special. I particularly love this new one with all the swirls. It reminds me a bit of an apple flan with the slices fanning out to cover the top. She is hooking the leading first and that in itself is creating a beautiful web of interest. Stay tuned as she boldly goes where she always goes, with tasteful, vibrant colours, blended to perfection What a tease....the patterns won't be available until they're all hooked.

Patsy is the newest member of our hooking group and is proving to have a good eye for colour and technique. She is almost finished Bluffton Bathers and I couldn't be more pleased. We looked up the Hilton Head lighthouse on the internet last evening and the lovely red and white will blend perfectly with the triangle of the red boat and bathing suit. I love the shading on the bums as they blossom out on the sandy beach. I've sold several of these patterns to the ladies of Hilton Head but Patsy just might beat them to the finish. What a splendid pillow this would make for her cottage!

Armenia is picking away at her Initially Yours letter "C" that stands for Corkum, her last name and Cookie, her nickname. She is busy at the cottage with lots of company so isn't hooking as much as she would like too. It's summer, time to enjoy the outdoors, long walks and swimming in the lake. I really like the backdrop of pattern edges behind her. Interesting colours of natural linen and beige burlap, like vertical stripings of tree bark.

Pam started hooking the stones in our pattern called "Stepping Stones". The background of green perfectly emulates grass and the golden stone sports delicate florals. She decided to jump ahead and do a few flowers, leaving the rest of the brick for later. Doing a bit of the fun stuff!

I'm steadily picking away at the striped Initially Yours "S". I love these colours and to date this is by far the most fun one to hook! I have to think a bit more about placement and working around all the flowers and vines to keep the lines straight but wowsa....I couldn't wait to get out of bed this morning to see it on the back of the chair. Working at night under a light and viewing it in the morning sun is like day and night literally. It is so delightfully happy you can't look at this one without smiling!

I've decided to challenge myself even more for the next letter. "N" for Nova Scotia with a background of our NS tartan. It will be a harder to do a horizontal and vertical grid but I can do it or dye trying! I've always wanted to design a NS tartan pattern so there is no time like the present!

What a lucky little girl! Theresa Scratch hooked our "Pearl" for her granddaughter. She did a bang up job. The hue of this piece screams girly! What an heirloom! Theresa was the first one to hook this pattern so she gets a 50% off coupon for another design and is going to hook a rug for another grandchild.

Good morning and hi Christine,

I want to say thank you so very much for the time and help you gave me yesterday afternoon. The visit to your shop was everything and more than I hoped it would be, just absolutely beautiful! Thanks to you and Shane for helping me chose the wool for my mermaid and also to you for getting the pattern drawn on so quickly with very little notice. As Pat and I talked on the drive home we both said the trip to your shop made the whole day so worthwhile and we left feeling very good, satisfied and sooooo very happy. I think I glowed all the way home, I was so pleased with my purchases. Even this morning I put everything out to check it all out and it just made me to happy to see all those beautiful colours and to envision how they will look hooked up.

As your so fond of saying "You are proud of your little shop", well you certainly have every right to be! Your shop is a rug hookers delight!!! Shane's expertise is dying wool is nothing short of his being "a master" in his work. Every time Pat and I talked about that incredible wall of colour, we were just WOWED at it's beauty. Your shop, you and Shane are all the inspiration that anyone would need after a visit.

Anyway, from one hooker to another we really enjoyed our visit to your shop and are already talking about our next trip, can't wait. We hope it will be not in the to far distance future. It certainly was our pleasure to visit. Hope your having a good day, I know I am as look upon all my beautiful colour! Cheers, Nancy

It was great having two island gals pop in for a visit. They both hook with a Charlottetown group called the Shady Ladies.

Pat Blacket's gorgeous Stained Glass Blue Heron. I've always wanted to design a Blue Heron and considering I see them on the shore across from our house all the time it's well overdue. This just might be the inspiration I need to make it so!

Nancy Doucette brought in some show and tell as well. I love Van Gogh's art and she did a beautiful job on the sun flowers. I was hoping she'd forget it and leave it behind! She took a class with Michele Micarelli for this piece.

Some of my favourite designs are Crewel and Jacobean. This particular tree of life and almost mirror image from end to end is perfect for a table runner or bench top. Only the finishing remains. Her colours were fabulous. This was created at a workshop with Doris Norman. There is so much talent in the Maritimes!

Marguerite Poirer is hiding but her talent is showing! William Morris Forest Tapestry Hare.

Barb was in to show her almost completed Watermelon Sampler, a Susan Leslie design and only her third rug. Barb is as sweet as that watermelon!

I've always loved this piece and Judy Fraser Arsenault is doing a great job! The pattern is called Something Fishy!

Another Della Ackles masterpiece! Between her hooking and colour sense and my design "Lotus" I think (call me bias) this should be in a magazine!

7 Comments

Hookers on crack.....

8/7/2014

4 Comments

Pam holding a piece of Crack. The pups are looking on thinking, that looks like something familiar....

It was a wild time at the hook-in last evening. We reached an all time high....we all did crack! Well, not me actually, I just smelled it so one could say I sniffed crack. Darn diabetes! It sure smelled divine and I watched it go into the mouths of my lucky friends and I had to settle for swallowing drool.

A couple of weeks ago, Pam was telling us about a to-die-for chocolate treat and last evening she brought in a bag of Crack for us to sample. None of us having experience with such things, all agreed that Crack was something they would do again, although it could be very addictive! The recipe will follow for those at home that would also like to try crack. It looks like a piece of bark but tastes like a slice of heaven.....if it tastes as good as it smells that is.

Our group was small but lively. We usually laugh a lot but last night was overly riotous, maybe it was all the sugar! Four of the diehards showed up so we gathered round and had a grand old time. I brought the pups to the hook-in because it started to thunder as I was leaving the house. They didn't mind at all.

Anne (left) and Shelley (right)

Pam is almost finished the bricks on her Stepping Stones.

Charlene is whipping a small piece for a women who had some unfinished rugs that belonged to her mother.

Anne was the winner of the Pattern of the Month Club Contest and carried off her three yards of Dorr Natural. She will be using it to dye for and complete her pattern Alice. Great job Anne!

Crack

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package butterscotch chipits
1 bag plain potato chips

Melt the semi-sweet and butterscotch chips (microwave or double
boiler...whichever suits you best!)

Mix together.

Crush the potatoes chips and pour into the melted chipits.
Mix well then spread onto a baking sheet. Put pan in the freezer and
when hard, crack into smaller pieces.

Enjoy!! (best kept in freezer or fridge or mouth)

4 Comments

We've got it licked.....

7/17/2014

16 Comments

Come hell or high humidity, the diehards were out last evening. It was a fun group once again. They listened to me rant and whine a bit. I usually hook on burlap but didn't have time to draw off the J so I grabbed a linen one off the rack. I'm not liking it and every loop I question whether I should just cut my losses and start again on burlap. I like the stiffness that burlap offers, the linen is so soft and kinda stretchy. I keep poking through the strands and my hook gets caught which slows me down. I'd have this one almost finished by now. I'm an old dog, I do old dog things. I started with burlap and will probably end with it, unless of course the sources dry up and I'm forced into another backing. In the meantime I'm not concerned about what happens to my stuff when I'm six feet under although with proper care my rugs should last at least as long as grannies did, considering the quality materials I use. I'm going to chew on this one all day and decide before I go home if I want to start from scratch on forge ahead and whine all the way to the finish line.

Then, as mentioned before, I am not enamored with the cream background behind my P. I made a quick decision on a Sunday and didn't want to bother dyeing so grabbed a hunk of wool off the rack and hooked it up but was always thinking I should have waited and added colour. Now that I am thinking about the poster and a book, I don't want that cream background against a white page so I'm ripping it out and redoing it with a lightly dyed red violet. Tell me what you think...stick with the ivory or go with the pink? I'm rooting more for the pink and put it out to the group last evening, most liked the pink but said I should ask the readers.

So I couldn't convince anyone to try the Mahone Bay Three Churches wine. I suppose that's a good thing, in this heat I wouldn't want to send them out there tipsy on the drive home! The talk seemed to center around desserts and a particularly delectable treat called a Kit Kat Square that was detailed layer for layer until my tongue was licking drool. So I jumped up and said "Ice-Cream for all, I'm buying!" and like the pied piper led the crowd to Chris's Convenience next door where he scooped up our choices. If I was going down, I was taking them all with me! I haven't had an ice-cream in over ten years and went for the Rum & Raisin, an old favorite and it was as good as the memory. In this heat, you had to lick quick but we suffered through! It was pretty quiet while we were all devouring our cones! Yuuummmmmm!

When I arrived at work this morning a little elf (Deanna) had dropped off some of those Kit Kat Squares discussed the night before.....they were as good as described! So happy she removed all the calories before bringing them by!

Glenna holding my ice-cream while I snapped the pictures.

I missed some of the rugs that left early but the ones that stayed behind to colour plan and chat, got their picture taken.

Anne is hooking "Alice". We colour planned the next background (field) colour to use. If I say so myself, this pattern would be a winner in every colour combination imaginable!

Charlene's stained glass piece looks like a church window in the sunlight!

Deanna is closing in on completion of her House Tessellation from the workshop with Heather Gordon.

Pam is almost finished the brick work on her Stepping Stones pattern.

I blew up the Greenfield & District Fire Department emblem and put it on a backing for Glenna to hook for her fire department. Glenna is a volunteer fire person (don't know what is politically correct these days), and is certainly gutsy! It's always good to support the local fire departments...you never know when you'll need them!

16 Comments

Hook-ins and doughnuts!

6/13/2014

4 Comments

Too bad there isn't a scratch and sniff function!

I seriously believe I should cast off the hooking hat and open a coffee shop in Mahone Bay. Most folks around these parts wouldn't know what a real doughnuts tastes like and I'd like to educate them. Those just add water, poor facsimile doughnuts bought at the chain stores don't know the meaning of flavour.

People would come for miles around to sample my wares, and enjoy a cup of java. There's nothing better then dipping one of my doughnuts in a glass of milk or coffee.....it's one of those 'die and go to heaven' experiences. I believe the word orgasmic was mentioned the other day.....that ought to tell ya how good they are! I'll make them for next Wednesday's hook-in so all you gals that groaned about not being here, not to worry!

Sue is hiding behind her new project Celtic Snowflake Rug. She is using variations of teal solids and plaids. It's going to be stunning!

Aunt Audrey above is the daughter of my grandmother who had this delicious recipe for doughnuts. Thanks Nana Marguerite Bird!

Sandy Bruce was visiting and joined the hook-in. She had a sweet show and tell bag. A little sculpted birdie sitting on a branch that follows around the back to the other side to show his house. Sweet or is that tweet? She loves birds and is currently hooking my Hummingbird Tree-O design.

Heather was working on Penny Rug medallions.

Sue having a bit of naughty fun. I threatened to post it and she said okay.

Patsy is breezing right along. She is the newest member of our group and fits right in like a comfy pair of slippers.

Full of doughnuts and hooking away! You can almost hear the arteries clogging! I somehow missed taking a photo of Armenia. She's hooking the Initially Yours letter C for Corkum, or Cookie, her nickname. How could I miss my sweet Armenia??

I've started my next Initially Yours pattern, the letter V, for my maiden name Veinotte.

4 Comments

Small hooking group but big on fun!

6/5/2014

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Patricia Goreavette

It was a small group for last evening's hook-in, but that didn’t mean it was short on fun. We are delighted to have Patricia Goreavette unite with our fold. You only need two things to join our group; rug hooking skills and a sense of humour and Patricia came packing both. Sweet pattern!

We were busy beavers one and all. Charlene was repairing a rug, Pam finished her grand-baby's heirloom; the baby came a month early so the rug is a bit late, although technically it’s right on time. Anne is plugging away on Alice and I hooked the ‘P’ in a pretty pink wool. This Initially Yours pattern is going to be sizzling with brights. Honey joined the group and got in a few licks and hugs. She’s a snugly girl! She likes to be up on the table where the action is.

Pam Haughn

Honey

Anne Holmes

P is for Pink!

Charlene's repair

Charlene Scott (no picture) began rug hooking by doing repairs around seven years ago. She and I connected and became friends when we were renovating the building my shop is in. She’s the landlady of the building two houses up the street. She would pop in to see the progress we were making and chat. She isn’t a rug restorer as in museum reconditioning, she likes to say she repairs edges and holes so the owners can once again use their family heirloom or flea market find on their floors. She doesn’t try to match the colours exactly but does a great job coming close. Personally I think she’s pretty darn exacting, but then she never does anything halfway. She sometimes raids our stash of worms for the right colour.

She likes to keep the cost down for the customer because if she has to dye wool and go through the process of a perfect match, the price would go up. Most people don’t want to spend a lot of money for the use of a rug they paid pennies for at an auction or yard sale. Usually people just want a practical fix so they can utilize the rug in their home and partake in its beauty for the rest of its days.

Charlene’s repairs are very meticulous with hand sewn patches and she hasn’t had an unhappy customer yet. She always brings in the rug she is repairing to show me a beauty of the past. I am always amazed how wonderful these older rugs can be when the rug hooker had limited resources for materials. It shows our ancestors were clever artists being able to make a purse out of a sow's ear using grandpas’ old long johns and thread bare cast offs with simple dye techniques using plants and vegetables. Now-a-days we are spoiled with the availability of unlimited choice. Great Granny today would do headstands visiting a rug hooking shop with all its wools and colour.

This beautiful rug was well worth repairing. I love the design and the faded charm. The back is really not much deeper in colour so the materials used had been a bit faded to begin with, probably all kinds of recycled bits from around the home. As for the design, sometimes the simplest patterns are the most eye fetching. This is basically a hit and miss but with angled ends and a wider pattern and is absolutely charming. I would love to have this treasure in the upstairs hallway of my home. It reminds me of something you would see in a grandma's bedroom with the waft of Avon talc in the air, surrounded by floral wallpaper and a bed full of faded, well washed linens........this rug is so soft and inviting like a hug from a nanna……

Where's Waldo? Can you see the repair?

4 Comments

Another hullabaloo hook-in!

5/22/2014

19 Comments

A great turnout last evening for the hook-in and boy were we noisy! Everyone was charged with news of one sort or another. One new grandma and one waiting on number five, maybe as early as that evening, both were hooking rugs for their babies. Grandma's are wonderful! Here's an update on Pam's piece but Lorraine's is top secret until the little bundle arrives.

Charlene is going gang busters with her Stained Glass triptych. She's fresh from the rug school experience. It will be fun to watch all three designs evolve and where she will go with her colour plan. Rick, saturated colour is making this unique design a stunner. I feel like I'm inside a grand church looking up at majestic stained glass windows on a sunny day. I see this rug framed or displayed as a centerpiece for a dining room table. She has dyed the wool, cut it and taped it as it comes off the machine to achieve the stained glass look.

Barbara is whipping her last completed project, the pattern was a gift from her daughter for Christmas 2013. Mary is displaying her latest geometric. She sure has a way with blocks of colour. This is a design offered in the book Scrappy Rugs. Below Shelley put the finishing touches on her latest. Sweet!

Anne is working out her colour plan for Alice. It will have a lovely Victorian feel, soft and timeless! Ginny surprised us by saying she is hooking two of these designs back to back. I told her to bring them both next time for a side by side picture. The red is hot!

A couple of goofy funsters came by just to hang. Both Sue and Linda Ruth recently finished rugs and haven't started anything new yet.

Last evening felt like my birthday. First the funsters, Sue and Linda Ruth took me out to dinner at the Knot Pub. Lorraine brought in a couple of yard sale finds....a delightful sheep cookie mold and this fun "Ewe'r Amazing" apron. Awwwhhh! And Barbara gave me a bumper sticker that reads "HOOKERS DO IT ON A RUG". I feel so special!

Remember these? The dreaded Girl Guide cookies? Charlene brought them in for a hook-in treat. In my day, as a dedicated pack member, I sold a lot of these slices of heaven. I wasted my entire allowance on some of the inventory. Probably ate as many as I sold. Later in life I've been on the buying side and have packed a few boxes away, probably a contributor to the muffin top bulging out over my jeans. I prefer the vanilla ones but hey, whatever's going.

I could smell them in every corner of the room. Their perfume followed me like a stalker, every movement of air sent a direct hit to my nostrils, clawing away at my will power, beckoning me into diabetic coma. I knew I had to be strong because once a crumb got past my lips I would have done a face plant in the box. I finally covered them with a piece of Mary's wool....out of smell, out of mind. Foods that evoke memories are the hardest to ignore. I'm only flesh and bone you know, not steel.

Tip of the Day

When incorporating fibers like curly mohair in your rugs, sometimes they are stringy and get pulled out by the grippers when moving the rug around on your frame. Use masking tape to cover the back side of the area that could be compromised.

Cover the area like a band-aid. Put a thin material such as waxed paper on top of the curly mohair (don't stick the tape directly to it), cut pieces of tape longer than the area to cover and the ends will adhere to the back of the hooked wool strips around it. The tape's adhesive is mild so will pull off easily when the rug is completed.

19 Comments

A little of this and a little of that.......

5/8/2014

5 Comments

The big news, in our little rug hooking family, is Pam Haughn is now a grandma! Grammy Pammy!!!

What came first, the rug or the baby? Well the rug would have, but this little Missy decided she was tired of the womb and wanted to come out and play a month early!

Pam says....Baby Zayla was born a month premature, so she had us all scrambling. She weighed 5 lbs 8.9 oz. and may I say as a non-prejudiced grandmother...she is beautiful. Heather and Tyrel, you have a beautiful princess! I concur....this is one handsome baby!

Last evening Pam was hooking on the baby's rug that she designed for her first grandbaby. She's almost finished the grass and then will start the border. She brought in the pattern for us to produce for the shop. It's a sweet blend of nature's babies and a whimsical tree. The parents initials are carved into the trunk. Zayla's information, name and birth date will be hooked along the bottom. What a lucky little girl!

Rug school is in full swing so the hook-in attendance was down. It was the Anne, Pam and Christine show. I didn't hook and spent my time making up a few more of the Initially Yours designs. Added to the finished patterns is P, H, S, Z, W, Q and what I've dubbed a Companion Pillow topper in case you would like to hook a monogrammed one and then have a complimentary cushion for the other side of the sofa. I'll have several more to view by the end of the day. 26 is a lot of letters to get through! If you wish one, let me know and I'll gladly make that one up out of sequence. They are all 16" x 16" and can be found on my new designs page: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

The Companion Pillow left, featuring the same motifs as found in the alphabet patterns.

Anne Holmes has begun to hook Alice, our big, beautiful Persian style oval pattern. Her colour palette is the polar opposite of Ginny's dark navy, primary colour palette with shots of green. Anne's will have a softer Victorian feel, with dusty rose, lavender, gold and creams. Both rugs will be stunning and it will be great to have contrasting pictures to offer so others can pick and choose the photo reference that suits their colour scheme best.

Alice, colour planned and hooked by Ginny.

Mary Doig is at rug school this week and emailed this picture of Anne Garrity who is hooking our pattern called "GEESE IN THE GARDEN" in class. I love her colours choices, bright and bold that really make the geese pop. Can't wait to see it finished! She's fast!

Bev Bownlow dropped by to show us her finished NAUTICAL RUNNER. Great job and I love the colour palette. She only purchased this pattern a short while ago....she's fast like sister Sue. If you love to sail or admire the sea, this compass rose design with stylized sea serpents is perfect.

5 Comments

Last Wednesday's Hook-in

4/7/2014

7 Comments

Mary is back to hooking after her toboggan spill this winter and the broken arm that ensued. She's doing a sweet little terrier trivet. It's nice seeing her back in the saddle! Here are a few pictures of the hook-in.

Saturday and Sunday had lots of visitors to the shop!!! Janet Delo came in to claim her prize for the Pattern of the Month Club Contest. A 3 Pack of Natural Dorr Wool. Next month this could be you!!!

Julia Cochrane purchased the first rug of the season, Say Cheese. She is a real cat person so this piece was a perfect match so I know it will be going to the perfect forever home! I like to feel good vibes from a customer when I sell a rug. It's like I am a rug breeder and need to find the right home for my litter!

What a wild weekend! The annual Fiber Arts Retreat at the Atlantica Hotel brought a lot of rug hookers, felters, spinners, knitters and quilters to the area. I opened on Sunday to accommodate those who were venturing this way after check out so they could redeem the gift certificates I donated for door prizes. There was a constant flow of people dropping by to check out the shop or just pop in to say hi.

After we closed on Sunday I tore the shop apart to rearrange some things and make room for some new stuff. We are preparing to finish our video that we started last year, a tour of the shop so all of you from away can see what we see everyday! Coming through our door is like entering through a Gateway To Inspiration or at least that's what I'm told! Knowing that we inspire rug hookers is a savory dish. Hubby's back home so the filming will continue!

JANET DELO, excited winner of the Dorr Natural Pack of wool!

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One helluva hook-in!

3/20/2014

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Today is another eye candy day! We have incredibly talented rug hookers in the Main Street Hookers group...and I don't think I'm bias, but if I'm blowing steam up your nose, let me know! Their varied work speaks for itself. There's always diversity in design and unique colour plans happening. It wasn't a large gathering last evening but it was packed with punch. Here's an update on works in progress and finished pieces. Stay tuned for updates on these fabulous rug hooking journeys.

LINDA RUTH'S HUMPHREY

ANNE'S GEOMETRIC

PAM'S STEPPING STONES

MY BUNNIES WITH TULIPS

AUDREY'S MORNING GLORIES

SHELLEY'S TEA POT BOOGIE

GINNY'S FINISHED BLUENOSE SCHOONER

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Hook-In Times and Dates

3/19/2014

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Daytime Hook-in - Everyone Welcome!
2nd Wednesday of each month
1:00 - 4:00 pm

Nighttime Hook-In - Everyone Welcome!
1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month
7:00 - 10:00 PM

No fees to pay, coffee and tea available...snacks!

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We finally got to hook! Thanks crazy winter for a short reprieve!

2/21/2014

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After several cancelations due to weather, we were finally able to hold a hook-in. It wasn't a large group, but we were lively! Maybe it was the delicious Zucchini Cake that Nancy made! It disappeared faster than a rabbit down a hole and really it was sort of same thing....just the rabbit was the cake! Recipe to follow.

Some of the diehards were out despite more bad weather on its way. We have a rule that if school is cancelled due to a storm, so is the hook-in. We don't want our friends driving in risky conditions just to hook! But once the morning was over, the sun was out, the streets were dry with above zero temperatures. The nastiness waited until we were all home safe and warm and then it hit us again like we've been bad or something! Enough already!

I like hearing the icy rain hit the windows and the moan of the howling wind. As long as I'm tucked safely inside, I just like a backdrop of winter sounds. Our house has been doing the shimmy shake lately with all these storms. The other evening a gust blew our very large steel BBQ off the deck and landed on a granite rock wall. Luckily no dents. It lay there like a ship blown aground on a reef. The thing is massively heavy and I struggled to make it upright. Getting it on the deck is another story. There has to be a man or two involved in that undertaking. I risked a hernia just getting it up on its wheels!

So last evening we had some finished show and tell and some new beginnings. First up we have Kilroy....I mean Sue Cunningham, who just finished hooking and whipping my new design "Just Laid". Wowsa! I absolutely love this! My vision brought to fruition...we're a team she and I!

Do you remember hearing the old joke...Do you smoke after sex?" and the woman replies "I don't know, I've never looked!" Well that's what inspired this piece with the play on words. If the cigarette offends anyone, the design stands without it. Imagine this beauty in your country kitchen!
To view the pattern click the link: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

Up next we have Pam Haughn, (left) with a rug she made for her son and Linda Ruth Beck, (right) with her scrap piece, made from all the leftovers of a larger version of this design.

Lorraine has designed another grand-baby rug. For every grandchild she hooks a keepsake. Some talk about being born with a silver spoon in the mouth, I think coming into this world to receive your very own rug, designed and lovingly hooked by Grammy is pretty darn special.

Beth Burgoyne, a newcomer to the group has finished her first project. This is one of my designs called Bzzzzz... It's been hooked with several colour palettes but I must say, this one is very fetching. I love pink and she wanted it bright so it's pulling double duty in the wow department! way to go! Beth is sewing in cording and will whip it next.

Pam is starting her next project. Brick work with floral offsets. She took advantage of our plaid sale to get all of the brick colours. It's be fun to watch the progression!

Someone made Pam a little felted Gnome.

Linda Ruth with her finished pup.

Auntie Audrey just returned from a cruise and visit to Florida. Back at hooking and Nova Scotia weather!

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What a show and tell evening!

11/7/2013

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Wow, what a fabulous hook-in last evening! We're brilliant! Like a think tank for hooking! There was no end to the delights, one after another, I was clicking and clicking and here are a few of the pictures taken. Eye candy all! There were projects finished and ones newly started. What a talented group of women.   Hey, when you're as good as you say you are...it isn't bragging! So the hook-in was a blast. There was homemade fudge from Pam and cinnamon rolls from Linda Ruth's oven.   Spoiled or what?

Our hook-ins are usually lively, like we've gotten out of solitary confinement and need to laugh and chat all at once. The collective noise is ongoing and usually there isn't a lull but at one point we all went unusually quiet and it was so out of character someone commented how strange it was to be able to hear a pin drop. Usually the cackles can be heard down the street and I often wonder what the tenant, on the other side of the wall, thinks about our Wednesday evening gatherings.

I was the odd man out last evening. I've been working on making a piece of the broken Cranberry Glass into a wire wrapped pendent. Talk is cheap and I've been saying I planned to do this for years and it's time to crap or get off the pot!   So I've given myself a deadline of tonight to finish and mark the accomplishment off my bucket list. I've been paving quite a long stretch of highway with all my good intentions and it's time to shut down the road crew!

But...I don't know if I've lost my bling touch or because the piece, which will commemorate my mother, needs a higher level of talent to execute, but I'm not happy they way it's turning out so back to the drawing board. I'm trying to make it extra special and there's only so much one can do with a bunch of wire and some pearls. Maybe it's been too long since I made the last pieces and I've lost the skill? I went home and ripped out what I'd started and hope to begin again this evening. I'm too fussy for my own good but if I plan to wear this piece when I haul out my pink shirts, well it can't look like chopped liver!   I want to wear it and look down and smile, think about mom and have a warm fuzzy feeling, not bury its ugliness deep in my jewelry box and forget about it......

Ginny is our quilting queen. Her work is perfection. She calls this one Basket of Flowers. Both her hooking and quilting is top notch.

Pam holding up a finished Shiver Me Timbers. Now she's working on a project using brown coloured burlap and is hooking large sand dollars to be made into pillows. All motif and no background to hook! Sorry I didn't get a photo...next time!

This is Barb's first project. One of Sue Cunningham's patterns called High Tide. She's clearly very talented.

Lorraine is nearing the end of her commission piece. Her sky is fabulous!
This is an old Garrett pattern.

Coincidentally, Ginny has finished her quilt and just started hooking the same rug design.

My Aunt Audrey working on her Morning Glories. Her own custom design to match a beautiful quilt she bought for her bed.

Charlene showing her progress on the Tessellations Workshop project of last Saturday. She is mixing up the colours in the windows which really sets off the houses nicely. Charlene is always blinged up and accessorized beautifully so it is no shock she wanted to jazz up the houses with a bit more interest.

Linda Ruth and her mirror image houses. Beautifully done in greys and textures with monochromatic flair and a fabulous pop of red. Another stunner.

Glenna just completed Hot Water, Fresh Towels, a Sue Cunningham design. I've always loved this design, a perfect bathroom piece, especially for a B&B. Great job!

Pam sews my flannel gripper frame covers for the shop. She delivered a nice bunch of reds for the coming holiday season. I especially like the one with the navy and white bows on a red background....and of course plaid is always a favourite!

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Happy Birthday Charlene!

10/15/2013

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I’m a bit behind in my blogs. This happened the first Wednesday of the month at our hook-in.

It was extra special this week with Charlene turning 39! Gee, I think she was 39 last year too…. Sorry about the photo Charlene, the camera caught you in a dreamy pose....the heat from all those candles maybe? Anyway there was cake and cupcakes to celebrate with candles and singing. We surprised her for sure!

Sue brought the cupcakes and there was teasing as to whether she made them or not, and we'll have to take her word for it that she did. Sue's a hooker not a cooker. She hit the jackpot with a guy that likes hanging out in the kitchen, he’s what one would refer to as a dream man!

Anyway, it was a fun time for all, except for me as I was pretty ill that evening. I had that pesky poop thing and actually stayed home from work the next day. I tried to smile and involve myself in the conversations but the look of my face must have given me away as the hookers all cleared out uncustomarily early. Sorry guys! Guess I put a damper on the party with my long face! Sorry Charlene! Even though I wasn’t in the best of health, I just didn’t have the heart to cancel now that we only meet twice a month. We all enjoy getting together and look forward to the first and third Wednesday for some female bonding.

We also had a visitor and now that I waited so long to write this email I have to stretch my memory to pull out her name….Cheryl I believe but don’t quote me on that. She is from the states and her hubby is here working on contract at the local plastics plant so she decided to come up for a visit. I think she enjoyed herself by the looks of all the smiles. She fit right in for sure. She didn’t have her hooking here but I said just come and chat, eat cake and be merry.

From left to right. Pam, Heather, Anne and Ginny. Ginny is working on the finishing of Alice.

On the left Linda Ruth, and to her right my Aunt Audrey.

Sue standing, the back of Charlene's head and our guest Cheryl having a laugh.

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Hump day hook-in!

9/19/2013

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Armenia's Daisy pillows.

What a great hook-in this evening! Full of laughs and show and tell. We had two new comers to the group, Barbara and Donna that fit in a like old friends. Our group keeps expanding so I am planning a few changes to accommodate the numbers. I’ll be taking out all the furniture and having tables built along the wall and cutting stations for those who wish to bring their clamp on machines. There’s enough room for 20 or more with a bit of clever designing and installing piano hinged tables in various areas. Up when you need them and down when you don't. Charlene’s husband is my go to guy so everything will look top notch.

The Keurigg got a good workout this evening. Armenia loves her Hazelnut Vanilla that I stock just for my little sweetie pie. The aroma is divine and I always make sure I have a coffee directly following hers so I get a hint of the flavour in my dark roast. I can’t drink the anything but regular coffee because of the sugar content but a trace doesn’t hurt. The weather is nippy in the evenings and a hot cup of java hits the spot! I was drinking decafe for a bit because of my heart skipping beats, but the taste was a step above bath water so if I have a coffee, I’m going for the real thing and I’ll just limit the intake to keep the ticker happy. I'll tell you one thing; the memory of a real coffee is better than drinking decaffeinated swill.

Pam with her completed Foster piece.

Sue on the last stretch of her Lunenburg Compass rug.

Armenia's current project, gorgeous garden lilies.

Pam's Cone Santa ready for cutting out and sewing into a cone.

Everyone was in fine form this evening. I can’t go into details because like Vegas, what happens at the hook-in stays at the hook-in but I can say we know how to have a few laughs!

Armenia showed off her pillows. She hooked the fronts and Sue sewed the backs. We all do nice things for Armenia because she's sweeter than sugar. Pam had a finished fishing scene and pulled her last loops on the Cone Santa this evening, getting a head start for the holidays. Sue is coming around the last lap on her Susan Leslie design called Lunenburg Compass. We all agree the colours are stellar and they might breathe some new life into the pattern that never really got a lot of attention. I think the design has a lot of appeal, with the compass in the center and the buildings around the perimeter. The shape of the outer border with the diagonal corners is quite unique which lends perfectly to the design elements. Of all of Susan’s designs this one seemed to pale against the more recognizable Lunenburg harbour fronts.

Deanna left, Donna, Heather and then Pam.

Glenna was working on her “Hot Water, Fresh Towels”, Donna is making great strides on Bluenose sails of her Lunenburg Schooner design, another one of Susan Leslie’s patterns.  Armenia was working on a bit of background for her lily piece, Ginny was doing the herringbone whipped edge on Alice, a stunning piece that deserves its very own blog as soon as it’s bound.   Anne is working on a new geometric design and Deanna is completing another shell.  Barbara a relatively new hooker, is getting to the end of her boat, one of Sue’s patterns called High Tide. Heather, fresh from Newfoundland rug school is doing a fun house piece with wool I drooled over. Sue told me where to locate it so I’m contacting the source to score some, like an addict going after a fix I just have to have it!

Geez, did I miss anyone? Oh yes, Linda Ruth isn’t in a picture but she hooked a few squares on hubby’s bedside inch rug and then I took over when she left early.   She just dropped in to sit and socialize, too tired to haul her own project over. She had a busy summer at her antique store “Come By Chance Antiques”.   The center squares are now completed so the plain section should go a lot faster. I’ll pick away at it over time, it might get done before Christmas, cross my fingers!

I looked over the crowd and smiled.  I often wonder what our male tenant thinks hearing all the screams of laugher through the walls. You can never be totally sound proofed so the noise must permeate the division between the units. He probably thinks, there go those hooker’s again......they must be up to something with all the commotion and he would be right!

Anne at the end of the table, to her right Ginny busy whipping Alice, Barbara in the pink, then Glenna, Armenia and Sue.

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Show & Tell night at Encompassing Designs!

4/8/2013

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Last Wednesday, Encompassing Designs hosted another fun hook-in. It was a bit of a show and tell evening with finished projects strutting their stuff and newly started patterns with a promise of great things to come.

Linda had the most to show off, she's been a very busy little hooker! This winter's snowstorms had canceled a lot of our gatherings so we hadn't seen one another for some time but Linda Ruth kept on trucking. The rug on the left is her latest master piece. This only took her too weeks to this point with only the borders left to put on. I've said it before, Linda Ruth is the most unique rug hookers I've ever met, not only does she not use a pattern she just starts hooking and sees where it goes!   I will be writing a featured blog on this rug when it's completed so I'll save the story until then.

You may also think this stunning rug is finished, but Linda Ruth is the border queen and has several inches of hooking to go, right up to one inch of an edging to whip with. She dropped by yesterday to show me what she came up with so I've had a sneak preview of perfection! Stay tuned, it's worth a gander!

I also have another blog coming about Linda Ruth's first prize winning rug at the tender age of fifteen and then hooking the same design again in the past few weeks.

The studio was abuzz with excitement. We're a fun gaggle of geese all talking and laughing, usually at the same time!  If you would like to drop in to hook with the Main Street Hookers we meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 pm. If it's cancelled I'll post it on here but it seems the weather is finally a bit more conducive to nighttime driving.

Geez Louise this rug is a stunner! Charlene Scott is on the last bit of border so we'll soon have a completed picture to drool over! And for all you paisley fans, the pattern will be available at that time!

Anne in the back is almost finished her rug for a show and tell; Armenia with only the grey head and hand showing is working on her new lily piece and Deanna, is laying down her first loops on a seashells pattern.

Pam whipping on of her flea market finds. Good gravy she's lucky!!!. She picked up several hundred dollars worth of kits and hooks for $6.00 at a yard sale! When she stand up, I'll bet there's an indent of a horseshoe in that chair!!! Also, here is The Happy Fishermen, newly completed! Great job Pam!

Now our Sue is really the hooking golden girl. Fresh from holiday she's tanned browner than fried grits, which is apparently on the menu everywhere in SC. She's on the last leg of whipping "Beached", another in her series of Women of Abundance.

Ah ha! A traitor among us! Aunt Audrey must walk the plank for her evil knitting ways! Well, I guess we'll forgive the hooking snub, family should have some privileges.....

The pièce de résistance was Linda Ruth's finished Beck that is now in the private collection of Sue Cunningham. Congrats to both of you! I still think that rug is perfect for my studio grumble, grumble!!

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Birthday/Hook-in

2/23/2013

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Shelley cutting the cake. Sorry I missed the candles and making the wish. You can see the Dirty Ears under the glass dome. Pam is hooking "The Happy Fishermen", a Susan Leslie design.

Mary is covered. Wine in one hand, cake in the other and hooking on her lap. Life doesn't get much better than that!

Just a bunch of hookers doing our two most favourite things....hooking and eating.

Aunt Audrey dropped in with her knitting and lucked into the cake. Fizzy snuggling in beside her.

What a fun hook-in this past Wednesday evening. We meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month upstairs at my studio. We celebrated two birthdays, Linda Ruth's and Shelley’s. Linda Ruth couldn’t make it but sent over Dirty Ears with Sue, which is a delectable cinnamon bun with finger licking icing. The smell was enough to drive me crazy but I resisted as I'm trying my best to keep my blood sugars normal....but it's torture!

There was also birthday cake compliments of Pam and Heather.  There were candles and quite the blaze.  Heather and Pam supplied the cake and candles and we butchered the Happy Birthday song. Don't hit me, I'm just sayin' we shouldn't quit our day jobs. Shelley did a fab job blowing out the fire....it's amazing how much of a blaze 39 candles can make.  One could have lost an eyebrow! Pam brought a homemade Pinot Grigio to wash it all down.   What a fun group of women. My studio is a place to congregate, a place where everyone knows your name. A home away from home; where you can let your hair down and share the passion of rug hooking.

Ginny brought her rug "Alice" in and I took an updated picture. Wow…this rug is a stunner.  I'll post an update in another next blog.

Sue is funny. She is finishing off a Deanne Fitzpatrick piece and I asked her when she started it and she takes off her glasses and says, “What’s today Wednesday?....I started it Sunday”. Do the math…that's only four days and she’s almost finished! She hooks like there’s a motor under her frame. I’m fast but I think she'd leave me in her wake. That's the joy of retirement, being able to do all the fun stuff whenever you want. I’m just too pooped at the end of the day so most of my hooking is done in my head….it’s called daydreams, fantasies, pipe dreams, castles in the sky or good intentions.

Glenna clipping right along on "Dances With Wool".

Mary starting a cute little Scottie piece...items to sell in the shop this summer.

Sue and a Deanne Fitzpatrick piece.

Armenia is working on "Bushel Of Love"

Anne is working on "Donna's Primitive".

Shelley is working on a prayer rug. Our entire group hooked Oriental designs about a decade ago. I think we are the only two that haven't finished. She pulls her's out between projects and picks away at it but I haven't touched mine in a long time. I guess I'll be the last to cross the finish line. Nice colours!

Ginny with her masterpiece. She almost has the center oval done. It's beeeeeeUtiful!

Heather enjoying a glass of wine. She designed her rug but the gripper frame cover is hiding it.

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Hook-in on Saturday?

1/19/2013

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Ah Saturday, the start of the weekend, a time for relaxing and catching up on chores and doing a bit of provision shopping. That's the lucky life of the nine to fiver because when you own your own business not so much. I’ve been pulling a six day week and on Sunday I happen to be teaching a beginner class so if I do the math, that would be seven days straight. Then add all next week, another 6 days and I’ll be chomping at the bit for a day off.

That’s always been a dilemma for me. Which day to take off? Historically, Sunday was always the worst day for sales, mostly tire kickers and flea market folks wandering the streets. People tell me to take off Monday but they’ve always been good days for the shop. Take off Tuesday they say, cause the other rug hooking shop is closed that day, then there’s Wednesday, hump day, I don't want to be off all day and then open up for Hook-ins that evening, then Thursday is getting close to the weekend and Friday is even better for shoppers.   I just know from past experience that all the days of the week pan out equally, as far as sales go, so it was always difficult to decide which one to count out. So, what do you do when you can't decide? You keep them all. I worry about disappointing someone, driving to my shop from goodness knows where to find a note on the door. I suppose I could say, phone me at home, after all I’m only a few minutes away and more than willing to drive in.

Today being Saturday, I'm going to sit on my derriere and hook to my heart’s content. You can come and hook with me if you like but I’m not going to do a thing as far as work goes, just sit and enjoy myself. Come and have a cup of something hot; coffee, tea or chocolate and stay for a chat.   Maybe Saturday could become a hook-in day for those who wish to pop in toting their wares.   My friends usually drop by on Saturday so I don't get much done anyway so why not make it all about socializing and fun and not worry about orders or any of that stuff. I’ve always wanted to establish a day hook-in for some time, I just couldn’t decide on the day of the week to hold it on. Around these parts you can hook pretty much every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but I don’t think much happens on Saturday.   So lets give it a whirl, it is now official, Saturday is hook-in time at Encompassing Designs. Say 12-3 to start and see what feedback has to say. I know it's late notice and the weather outside is frightful so I don't expect to see anyone today but hopefully next week a few will mosey on by and

And then Sunday I'm teaching a beginning class. I do look forward to teaching. It has always been one of the aspects of the business that I fully enjoy.   Glenna, one of our hook-in regulars is coming to sit in while a couple of friends from her neck of the woods take the class so it ought to be a fun filled day.

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Hook-in and stuff!

11/8/2012

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My new desk, that I've commonly referred to as “My Precious” has arrived and although it is patiently waiting for a coat of paint she is beautiful beyond words in her raw state. What a guy that Steve! He took my needs from a few words and scratched drawings to a reality that far surpassed my desire…my that sounds naughty, but really I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. The top lifts up to make into a drafting table for all those finicky designs that need proper perspective and when not in use, lies flat. It's going to get a lot of use, has already...a flat surface in this shop gets piled high, so before it gets painted I'll have to excavate through the bolts of new plaids that just came in and all the other stuff landing on its surface.

So now I have my counter and a fine one she is, so why haven’t I used it yet!? Well it’s been a busy week so far with no end in sight. It seems like one thing after another takes my time from what I want/plan to do, to what needs to be done and there is never any shortage of needs. Wants, needs, should be one of the same, and I can’t complain as work keeps the shop running like a well-greased wheel but I can never get caught up enough to stop the hyperventilating and just brreaatthheeeeeeeee.............

The new website has initiated an influx of business so we are out straight, even a client from Tokyo and one from New Zealand! A woman phoned in today from Truro who was urged by a friend in Alberta to check us out. She was so excited when she phoned in an order, discovering us in her own backyard was like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Funny after almost 13 years in business people from Nova Scotia are still happening on us accidentally, either by walking past the building or having a friend from another province or country point us out.

We had another hook-in last evening and Glenna from Greenfield popped in. She’s working on a Christmas piece with sweet red mittens and completed two lickity split. She seems to be one of those speed hookers, might give Sue and me a run for our money. I’m still on the same Christmas stocking but life has been getting in the way although it will be finished by the end of November, just in time to hang the thing before Father Christmas Festival. Christmas, where is the time going?!

Mary was in this evening working on another designer Christmas stocking for her daughter-in-law, Christa. An underwater scene infused with ferns, shells and what is to be a red starfish, sounds festive and a future pattern for her collection. I’ll post pictures on the progress as I am sure it will be another Mary winner!

Proud Grandma with Stella's new heirloom, talk about being born with a silver spoon!!! Lucky little girl to have that beautiful rug and all the love that went into making every loop!!

Lorraine joined us this evening all aglow with grand news. Another baby in the family, Stella Lorraine, and proud grandma was putting the finishing touches on her baby gift. She hooked it along with the pregnancy, leaving only the date and name blank until the birth. Lorraine is the
best, delivering wonderful rugs along with the birth of her grand babies, what an heirloom to carry throughout their life. Lorraine is one of the good people, can’t find a darn thing bad to say about her, not that I’m looking; I’m just saying she’s special. Stella is a very lucky little girl to have a grandma like Lorraine and although she lives in California I’m sure there will be lots of visits back and forth and Skyping in-between.

I broached the subject about a hooker calendar for 2013. Between the raucous laughter there was one or two displays of flashing bras so I don’t think it’ll be a hard sell. Really, I didn’t need a preview but it was enlightening in that it reinforced the need for me to buy a few new bras…I’ve been putting it off and the support just isn’t there anymore.   The elastic parts gave up the ghost a few months back and I’ve not found the time to do an undergarment run. There is nothing I hate more than bra shopping. All that in and out of the change room. Clothes on, clothes off, gives one a glimpse of a prostitute’s day. It’s always so cold in those change rooms too! The shrinkage factor, the complete opposite of what happens to men, can affect the bra fitting properly!

A bra is a very personal thing, not to be taken lightly (as if size D’s could be taken lightly!) If I score a good fit I just buy four or five in various colours and I’m set for the next year or so.   The styles seem to come and go or I would just order the same one as last time but no, bra
hunting is like a man getting a body wax, painful! I’m not a big shopper anyway, usually run in get what I want and get out. I shop like a man and when I find something I like I just buy a lot of it. If you think I’m wearing the same pair of jeans every day you’d be wrong….I bought eight pairs. When I find something I like I get as much as possible. I liked the way these jeans make my legs look skinny and my butt small, well that’s my opinion, but the main reason for bulk buying is so I won’t be a slave to laundry. I’ve have 30 pairs of panties so I’m good to go in that department too and in extenuating circumstances, I could stretch out a few more days, turning them inside out provides a makeshift fresh start or go commando if need be. I understand that men do this sort of thing and hey it's a good idea, you do what to have to. Now that might be too much information and you’re probably moaning, Oh Christine, you’ve gone too far, but remember I'm a leg puller so it's up to you to decide if this is a Ripley’s or a Not!

Well on that note, I’m off to bed. Well, back to sleep. I came home from the hook-in and dozed on the sofa. I’ve not been sleeping so well lately but that couch seems to be the drug that knocks me out faster than a club on the head.    I'm notorious for falling asleep anywhere, at the drop of a hat, except of course in bed. Give me a chair, comfortable or otherwise and I’m snoring. Even the car, sitting in the passenger seat or while driving, (another story for another time), but get
horizontal on my mattress, where I’m supposed to relax and drift off to sleep, my brain fires up like a chainsaw and I’m buzzing away as if I’m jacked up on cocaine. So thanks for the sofa, I had a wonderful, unbroken five hours of sleep, probably as much as I can expect at this menopausal/post-menopausal (I don’'t know where the heck I am) point in my life. I awoke around 4:30 am with lights on, shivering to a cooling house, got up to stock the wood stove and was drawn to the computer like a moth to a flame. I’ll admit, I’m addicted to checking my email, but that dependency never killed anyone, and the next thing a blank page is staring me in the face and I’m writing tomorrow’s blog.   You know, that is the one thing I like most about being me. No set anything. I beat to a different drum in that there’s never any set schedule. I do what I want, when I want. Life is good that way, nothing ordinary in my extraordinary, never a dull moment, life.

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Blog #9 - Wednesday evening Hook-ins

10/18/2012

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Linda Ruth and Laura Smith...yes the one and only fabulous Canadian singer.

Bonnie hooking "No Spring Chicken"

Anne, Pam, Lorraine and Deanna

Sue, Deb and Mary

It's Thursday morning, the day after the Wednesday evening hook-in at my studio. We
meet at 7:00 pm and break up anywhere after nine. Last evening we were pleased to have two visitors join the group. Most rug hookers travel with their hooking paraphernalia…like American Express, we don’t leave home without it. This time it was a daughter and her 80 year old mother. The daughter was from Truro, NS and her mother was visiting from Ottawa and the nonhooker of the two. She bought a kit though, a Celtic Knot from the Book of Kells. She said she actually saw the Book of Kells on a visit to Dublin and told us how they turn one page a day. She said the designs were breathtaking and she wanted a memory of her trip, saw the kit and was inspired.

We have a great bunch of women who gather at the studio on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the
month. We are the only hooking group that meets in the evenings as you can hook any day of the week and twice on Sunday in this area. Because we are evening oriented we attract women who work and they are happy to have a place to socialize and share their passion. We range in age from 40ish to the oldest at 80. If traveling to beautiful Mahone Bay please come and join us!

Our group consists of about 25 women in total but we don’t all show up on the same evening as life gets in the way. We once had a man join us, a navy retiree who we felt should have seen it all so we wouldn’t have to worry about embarrassing him, but when talk got around to the under-wire in a bra, he turned fifty shades of red and never returned.  Our county yields a
lot of male rug hookers but most are closet crafters, not leaving the comfort of their home. I don’t know if they’re afraid it will dissolve their manliness or if a group of women are intimidating. Too bad men can’t be wooed to join us as they would bring a different perspective on the evening’s conversations. I personally would enjoy a bit of co-ed rug hooking.

I explain to people coming into the shop, who marvel that today’s men do this craft, that grandpa was hooking, knitting, tatting and indulging in all manner of crafts right alongside grandma.   The nights were long and dark, nothing much else to do than wile away the hours with satisfying handiwork. It seems that tidbit gets overlooked when we’re in a rush to praise our fore-mothers with creative genius and resourcefulness. Good old grandpa’s weather worn, callused, hard working hands were just as talented. There was nothing else to do after the sun went down and the oil lamps came out. My goodness, I could never have survived without my Ott-Lite!

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Blog #9 - Wednesday evening Hook-ins

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